JHU
Global Covid-19 cases hit 168 million
More than 168 million people have been found infected with the virus as Covid-19 pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world.
The total caseload reached at 168,181,146 as of Thursday morning while the death toll from the virus climbed to 3,494,001, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
So far, 1,737, 293,414 doses of vaccines have been administered across the world.
The US, which remained the world’s worst hit country in both number of cases and deaths, has logged 33,190,016 with 591,947 fatalities.
India has been experiencing a staggering Covid-19 situation as in recent weeks the country has been counting deaths of more than 4,000 people a day.
Also read: US civil rights leader urges Biden To give 60 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to India
Amid worries over the reports of black fungus in India, the country has recorded 27, 157, 795 cases while the death toll from the virus mounted to 311,388 till date.
Brazil on Wednesday reported 2,398 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the national count to 454,429, the Ministry of Health said.
A total of 80,486 more infections were detected, raising the nationwide tally to 16,274,695, the ministry said.
Brazil has the world's second highest COVID-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third largest caseload, following the United States and India.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 17 more Covid-related deaths in 24 hours until Wednesday morning, the lowest number in 68 days.
The country saw 16 Covid-19 deaths on March 18 last.
Besides, 1,497 new cases were recorded taking the total caseload to 7,93,693, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Also read: India to begin clinical trials for Covd-19 vaccine in children
Health authorities recorded the new cases after testing 16,434 samples in the last 24 hours.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The administration of the first dose remained suspended since April 26.
Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to short supply of doses amid a delay in timely arrival of shipments from India.
However, the administering of the 1st dose of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine against Covid-19 began on Tuesday.
Global Covid cases top 165 million
Covid-19 continues its onslaught across the world, even with mass inoculations underway. The overall number of corona cases has now topped 165 million.
The total cases and fatalities reached 165,253,588 and 3,425,648, respectively, on Friday morning, as per the latest data released by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The Covid-19 cases in the US, the worst-hit country in the world, have surged past 33 million now. The total caseload and deaths in the country currently stand at 33,055,801 and 588,531, respectively, as per JHU.
Also read: US civil rights leader urges Biden To give 60 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to India
India has been experiencing a precarious situation of handling the Covid-19 situation as the country has registered 26,030,674 cases with 291,365 deaths to date.
However, a Hindustan Times analysis show that some of India’s Covid-19 hotspots are on a recovery path with seven out of every 10 Indians living in the 19 Indian states and Union territories, some of which were its early epicenters, seeing an improvement.
Among the 19 are Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, some of which were ravaged by the second wave with the healthcare systems of most being overwhelmed by a rush of hospitalisations.
Brazil has the world's second-highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest caseload, following the United States and India.
The country has logged 15,898,558 cases and 444,391 deaths, as of Friday.
Also read: India to begin clinical trials for Covd-19 vaccine in children
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Thursday reported 36 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours, taking the national count to 12,284. The mortality rate though remains static at 1.56%.
Besides, the country saw 1,457 new cases as 19,437 samples were tested during the 24-hour period, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.
The infection rate fell to 7.50% from Wednesday’s 7.83%.
Also read: Covid-19: 36 more die in Bangladesh, 1,457 others infected
Vaccination drive
In the past 24 hours, not a single citizen in the country received the first dose of the vaccine. However, 53,915 people received the second dose during the period.
The administering of the first dose has remained suspended since April 26. Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to an acute shortage of the same amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses acquired from India's Serum Institute.
Global Covid-19 cases hit 162 million
As Covid-19 cases keep rising day by day in the world, over 162 million people have so far been infected with the deadly virus.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total caseload from the virus reached 162,203,982 while the death toll mounted to 3,365,081 as of Sunday morning.
Some 1,436,372, 607 doses of vaccines have been administered around the world till date, said JHU.
The Covid-19 cases in the US, which remained the world’s worst-hit country, is approaching 33 million cases as a total of 32,923,613 people have been found infected with the virus in the country alone with 585,704 fatalities.
India is holding the second position in terms of the number of cases. With shortage of oxygen and bed crisis at hospitals India has been experiencing a staggering situation of Covid-19 for the past several weeks that has shaken the health system of the country.
India has logged 24,372,907 cases with 266,207 deaths.
Also Read:Vaccine deserts: Some countries have no COVID-19 jabs at all
Brazil on Saturday reported 2,087 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the national count to 434,715, the Ministry of Health said.
Meanwhile, 67,009 more infections were detected, raising the nationwide tally to 15,586,534.
Brazil has the world's second highest COVID-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third largest caseload, following the United States and India.
Situation in Bangladesh
Covid-19 claimed 22 more lives in Bangladesh in the past 24 hours until Saturday morning which is the lowest daily deaths in nearly two months.
The country saw 26 Covid deaths on Friday and 31 on Thursday.
Also Read: Beware of Indian covid variant: Quader
With the latest deaths logged today, the official Covid-related death count in the country reached 12,124.
However, the mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.55%, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The country witnessed a sharp drop in the number of new cases as the tests have declined dramatically.
Only 261 infections were logged in the last 24 hours after examining 3,758 samples during the period.
The country also confirmed 779,796 Covid-19 cases in total, says the DGHS handout.
Lockdown extended till May 23
The government is going to extend the ongoing lockdown for another week until May 23 to stem the spread of Covid-19.
“The ongoing restrictions will be extended for another week and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given approval to it. A notification will be issued on Sunday,” State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told UNB on Friday.
Global Covid cases near 156 million
With new variants of Covid-19 spreading faster than ever before in several nations, the global corona cases surpassed 155.6 million on Friday.
In fact, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count and fatalities now stand at 155,650,258 and 3,251,960, respectively.
The US, the world's worst-hit country in terms of cases and deaths, has so far logged 32,603,943 infections and 580,054 fatalities, respectively, as per the JHU data.
Also read: COVID’s US toll projected to drop sharply by the end of July
The Centers for Disease Control is now reporting an average of about 350,000 new cases each week, 35,000 hospitalisations and over 4,000 deaths, reports AP.
With Covid-19 deaths, hospitalisations and cases plummeting since January, many states and cities are already moving to ease or lift restrictions on restaurants, bars, theaters and other businesses and talking about getting back to something close to normal this summer.
Brazil registered 2,531 more deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, raising the country's death toll to 417,176, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, tests detected 73,559 new Covid-19 cases, taking the national tally to 15,009,023.
Brazil has the world's second-highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest outbreak, behind the United States and India.
Meanwhile, India has recorded 21,491, 598 cases as of Friday morning, with 234,083 fatalities.
India’s hospitals are packed with Covid-19 patients and the shortage of oxygen is only intensifying the woes of patients and their relatives.
Eleven people with Covid-19 died on Thursday from a sudden oxygen pressure failure at a government university hospital in the southern town of Chengalpet, possibly from a faulty valve, according to Indian media.
Also read: Will work together to overcome Covid crisis: Hasina to Mamata
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Thursday recorded 41 more deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, showing a continuous fall in the fatality rate.
This is the lowest number of Covid deaths in the country after March 28 this year. Bangladesh saw 35 deaths on March 28.
With the new death data, the mortality from coronavirus has risen to 11,796, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in a handout.
Health authorities recorded 1,822 new infections during the period, pushing up the caseload to 7,69,160.
Vaccination Drive
Bangladesh kicked off its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it acquired from the Serum Institute of India.
Bangladesh signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
However, DGHS DG Prof ABM Khurshid Alam assured that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of the vaccine by early May.
In the past 24 hours, 43 people have received the first dose and 102,915 have received the second dose of Covid vaccine, a figure which is exactly the same of yesterday, according to the DGHS handout.
So far, a total of 72,48,829 people received jabs whereas 33,13,424 people managed to complete their second dose.
Lockdown extended till May 16
The government has issued a notification extending the ongoing lockdown till May 16 with six fresh directives alongside the existing ones to contain the spread of Covid-19.
According to the notification issued by the Cabinet Division, officials of all government, semi-government autonomous and private organisations, banks and financial institutions have been asked to remain at their respective workstations during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
Shops and shopping malls will remain open from 10 am to 8 pm maintaining health guidelines. If any violations are seen, the shopping malls and shops will be closed instantly, says the notification.
Inter-district transport services will remain suspended, while intra-district transport services started operations ensuring health guidelines from Thursday.
However, launch and train services will remain suspended.
Also read: US support behind vaccine patent waiver ‘monumental moment’ in Covid fight: WHO
Global Covid-19 cases top 149 million
With new variants of Covid-19 spreading faster than ever before in several parts of the world, the global corona cases have now topped 149 million.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total global case count reached 149,206,501 while the death toll climbed to 3,146,284 on Thursday morning.
The US, the world's worst-hit country in terms of cases and deaths, have recorded 32,229,317 cases with 574,326 fatalities to date, as per the JHU data.
Neighbouring India’s total Covid case count is fast approaching the 18-million mark. The country’s caseload and fatalities stand at 17, 997,267 and 201,187, respectively, as of Thursday morning.
India had thought the worst was over when cases ebbed in September. But infections began increasing in February, and on Wednesday, 362,757 new confirmed cases, a global record, pushed the country’s total past 17.9 million, second only to the U.S.
Local media have reported discrepancies between official state tallies of the dead and actual numbers of bodies in crematoriums and burial grounds. Many crematoriums have spilled over into parking lots and other empty spaces as blazing funeral pyres light up the night sky, reports AP.
Brazil on Wednesday registered 3,163 more deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, raising the national count to 398,185, the world's second-highest corona death toll after the US, the Ministry of Health said.
Also Read: Global Covid-19 cases top 142 million
The ministry said that tests detected 79,726 new Covid-19 cases, taking its nationwide tally to 14,521,289.
April has been the month with the most deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in the Latin American nation, with about 70,000 fatalities having been reported to date, compared with 66,000 deaths for March.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Wednesday reported 77 more coronavirus-related deaths and 2,955 new cases as the country grapples with the second wave of the virus.
The daily infection rate dropped to 10.48 percent from Tuesday’s 12.51 percent but the mortality rate rose to 1.50 percent.
As of Wednesday, 754,614 cases and 11,305 deaths have been recorded, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 77 deaths, new cases 2,955
The number of recoveries now stand at 672,319, according to the directorate.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
Lockdown extended
The surge in Covid infections prompted the government to go for a lockdown from early April. Having failed to achieve the intended result, it imposed a complete lockdown from April 11 and extended it to April 28.
On Wednesday, the government issued a circular extending the lockdown till May 5, as there is no improvement in the Covid-19 situation.
However, shopping malls will remain open from 10am to 8pm during the extended period, he said.
Vaccination
Bangladesh launched a vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it acquired from the Serum Institute of India.
Bangladesh signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
However,BDGHS chief Prof ABM Khurshid Alam has assured citizens that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of the vaccine by the first week of May.
Global Covid-19 cases cross 144 million
The global Covid-19 caseload has crossed the grim milestone of 144 million as the world is grappling to contain the second outbreak of Covid-19 even with mass inoculations underway.
Deaths from the virus have also topped three million, according to Johns Hopkins University.
To be specific, the total caseload reached 144,757,145 while the fatalities climbed to 3,072,309 on Friday morning.
Also read: How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?
The US is the world's worst-hit country -- the North American nation has registered 31,929,599 cases and 570,345 deaths as of Friday morning.
In Brazil, the Covid-19 death toll mounted to 383,502 and infections topped 14,167,973, as per the latest data.
A new wave of infections has been confronting the South American country, leading to a rise in hospitalisations, deaths and the collapse of a large part of the Brazilian public healthcare system.
Neighbouring country India recorded the world's second highest number of Covid-19 cases, at 16,263,695 to date. The country has so far witnessed 186,095 deaths, listing it among the worst-affected countries in the world.
Also read: Covid situation in Bangladesh unlikely to improve before June: Experts
Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded 98 coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours till Thursday as the deadly second wave of the virus overwhelms hospitals and pushes the health sector to its limits.
The virus also infected 4,014 others during the period, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
Coronavirus deaths now stand at 10,781 with a mortality rate of 1.46 percent, according to DGHS. The daily infection rate fell to 14.63 percent from Wednesday’s 15.07 percent.
On Monday, the country broke all the previous records of Covid-19 deaths registering 112 fatalities. It saw over 100 deaths on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
Health authorities have so far confirmed 736,074 cases. Among them, 642,449 people - 87.28 percent of all patients – have recovered.
Also read: India records world's highest single-day spike in Covid cases
Global Covid-19 cases top 140 mn with over 3 mn fatalities
More than 140 million people have been infected with Covid-19 worldwide with over 3 million fatalities on Sunday, showing a shattering situation of the pandemic.
The total case count from the virus has reached 140,433,831 while the death toll mounted to 3,008,964 as of Sunday morning, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The number of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; or metropolitan Lisbon, Portugal. It is bigger than Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined, reports AP.
And the true number is believed to be significantly higher because of possible government concealment and the many cases overlooked in the early stages of the outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019.
When the world back in January passed the bleak threshold of 2 million deaths, immunization drives had just started in Europe and the United States. Today, they are underway in more than 190 countries, though progress in bringing the virus under control varies widely.
The US which remains the world’s worst hit country in number of cases and death has logged 31,627,701 cases and 566,893 deaths respectively.
Still, deaths in the U.S. are down to about 700 per day on average, plummeting from a mid-January peak of about 3,400, reports AP.
Also read: Global Covid death toll nears 3 million
Brazil's COVID-19 death toll on Saturday reached 371,678 after registering another 2,929 fatalities, the country's ministry of health reported.
According to the ministry, another 67,636 cases were registered, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 13,900,091.
Since the beginning of this year, the country has been facing a second wave of the virus, which has resulted in the collapse of a large part of its healthcare system.
Also read: Global Covid-19 cases top 134.5 million
In India, the Covid-19 situation has reached at dire state following the spike in Covid-19 cases as the country has been continuing to register over 2 lakh Covid-19 cases for the last couple of days.
So far, India has registered 14,526,609 cases and 175, 649 deaths.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh registered a single-day death of 101 from Covid-19 for the second consecutive day in the past 24 hours until Saturday, pushing up the total fatalities to 10,283.
The country shattered its previous all records of single-day death count with 101 fatalities on Friday.
However, 3,473 new cases were detected during the period as the number of tests declined significantly in the last 5-6 days. Only 16, 185 samples were tested during the period.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
Covid-19: Global cases close to 136 million
Amid the alarming deterioration in the Covid-19 situation worldwide, the confirmed cases of coronavirus reached near 136 million on Monday with 2.9 million deaths, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The total caseload in the world rose to 135,869, 704 while the death toll reached 2,935,271 as of Monday morning.
The US has remained the world’s worst country in number of cases and deaths and so far, the country has logged 31,196,119 cases and 562,064 deaths.
Brazil has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, and many states in the country have reported an overloading of their healthcare systems.
Brazil registered 1,803 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the national death toll to 353,137, the country's ministry of health reported on Sunday.
Also read: Covid-19: Hasina for balancing livelihoods and public health
The ministry also said that another 37,017 cases of COVID-19 were reported at the same period of time, bringing the total number of cases to 13,482,023.
Besides, India’s total caseload crossed 13,358,805 with 169,275 fatalities.
Covid-19 situation in Banagladesh
Bangladesh has reported its highest single-day coronavirus fatalities on Sunday, surpassing Saturday’s figure.
The health authorities confirmed 78 deaths during the past 24 hours till morning. A day earlier, the country recorded 77 fatalities, the highest since coronavirus cases were first reported in March last year.
Fatalities from Covid-19 rose to 9,739 as the mortality rate remained static at 1.42 percent for the third consecutive day.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus death on March 18 last year. The virus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March.
Also read: Govt considering complete lockdown from April 14: Quader
Meanwhile, 5,819 new cases were reported, pushing the local tally to 684,756, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
A rise in cases prompted the government to enforce a seven-day lockdown from April 5 but later shops and shopping malls were allowed to remain open and public transport resumed in city corporation areas.
The ongoing lockdown will remain in force until April 13 (Tuesday) to stem the spread of Coronavirus, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday.
The government will enforce a stricter lockdown for seven days from April 14 to bring the situation under control.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 7000+ cases for fifth day
Vaccination drive
The vaccination campaign launched on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India continues with experts calling for ramping up the drive.
On April 8, Bangladesh began its second phase of inoculating people against coronavirus amid uncertainty around vaccine availability.
Global Covid-19 cases exceed 135 million with 2.9 million fatalities
Over 135 million people have been infected with Covid-19 globally with the reports of 2.9 million deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The total case count reached 135,200,019 as of Sunday while the death toll mounted to 2,926,949.
The US has logged 31,49,565 cases and the death toll from the virus climbed to 561,780 as of Sunday morning.
Brazil's COVID-19 death toll has risen to 351,334 after 2,616 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the country registered 71,832 new cases, bringing the national tally to 13,445,006, the ministry said.
India has registered 13,205,926 cases and over 168,436 people have died so far from the virus in the country.
Also read: Are some Covid-19 vaccines more effective than others?
Vaccine shortage hits poor countries
As many as 60 countries, including some of the world’s poorest, might be stalled at the first shots of their coronavirus vaccinations because nearly all deliveries through the global programme intended to help them are blocked until as late as June, reports AP.
COVAX – the global initiative to provide vaccines to countries lacking the clout to negotiate for scarce supplies on their own – has in the past week shipped more than 25,000 doses to low-income countries only twice on any given day. Deliveries have all but halted since Monday.
During the past two weeks, according to data compiled daily by UNICEF, fewer than two million COVAX doses in total were cleared for shipment to 92 countries in the developing world — the same amount injected in Britain alone.
On Friday, the head of the World Health Organization slammed the “shocking imbalance” in global COVID-19 vaccination.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said while one in four people in rich countries had received a vaccine, only one in 500 people in poorer countries had gotten a dose.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees highest daily death toll of 74
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded 77 more deaths during the last 24 hours till Saturday morning, the highest one-day total since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.
The number of new Coronavirus cases dropped slightly to 5,343 after registering over 7,000 cases for the fifth day in the last six days until Friday, said a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the new 77 deaths, the Covid-19 fatalities rose to 9,661 while the mortality rate remained static at 1.42 percent for two consecutive days.
Meanwhile, the government enforced a 7-day lockdown from April 5 to bring the situation under control keeping garment factories and offices open on condition of maintaining health protocols. Later, it allowed public transports movement in city corporation areas and reopened shops and shopping malls within a few days.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and confirmed the first death from the virus 10 days later.
Vaccination drive
The vaccination campaign, launched on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India, continues across the country with experts calling for intensifying it further.
On Thursday, Bangladesh began its second phase of inoculating people against the coronavirus disease amid uncertainty around vaccine availability.
Fresh lockdown set to go
As the spread of Coronavirus has sparked alarm across the country, the government is set to issue a notification on Sunday over enforcing a fresh nationwide lockdown from April 14 in its desperate bid to stop the spread of the deadly virus.
A fresh lockdown is coming with tougher measures as the virus keeps spreading fast in the country, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said while talking to UNB about the lockdown notification.
Global Covid cases top 132 million
The worst of the Covid-19 pandemic seems to be far from over. The overall number of global corona cases has now surged past 132 million, while the death toll is fast nearing 3 million.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count reached 132,300,599 while the death toll from the virus mounted to 2,871,781 on Wednesday morning.
The US has so far recorded 30,845,912 cases and 556,509 deaths, as per the university data.
In the US, nearly half of new coronavirus infections are in just five states -- a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hotspots, reports AP.
New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the nation’s new Covid-19 infections, or nearly 197,500 new cases, in the latest available seven-day period, according to the state health agency data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Total US infections during the same week numbered more than 452,000.
Also read: Covid-19: Global death toll surpasses 2.8 million
Brazil on Tuesday registered a record 4,195 deaths from Covid in a single day, taking the accumulated pandemic toll to 336,947, the Ministry of Health said.
Meanwhile, 86,979 people tested positive on Tuesday, pushing the national tally to around 13,100,580.
Neighbouring India has recorded 12,686,049 cases and 165,547 deaths as of Wednesday morning, according to the data.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh witnessed record-breaking daily Covid-19 fatalities and infections, with 66 deaths and 7,213 cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
More than 7,000 new coronavirus cases were recorded for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Also read: Global Covid cases near 118 million
With the 66 new deaths, the coronavirus fatalities rose to 9,384 while the mortality rate dropped slightly to 1.44 percent as it was 1.45 percent on Monday.
During the 24-hour period, 2,969 patients recovered, taking the number of recoveries to 558,383, the DGHS handout said.
Although the government enforced a 7-day lockdown from Monday restricting people’s movement, shutting shops and markets and suspending operations of public transport (bus, train and domestic flights), people have been moving around freely, posing risks of more transmission.
Bangladesh has so far recorded 651,652 coronavirus cases, the DGHS handout added.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and confirmed the first death from the virus 10 days later.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh breaks records with 7,213 daily cases, 66 deaths
Vaccination drive
The government launched a countrywide vaccination campaign on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.
Bangladesh inked an agreement with Serum in December last year for acquiring 30 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Serum is supposed to supply the doses between January and June this year – 5 million each month.
Second dose of vaccine
The vaccination drive of the coronavirus second doses will begin from April 8 (Thursday), said Health Services Division Secretary Lokman Hossain on Tuesday.
“Though the vaccination campaign of the first doses was supposed to be concluded on Tuesday, the registration process for taking the first doses is still underway,” he said.